Diabetes and Kidney Disease

Diabetes is a disaterous disease that affects kidneys, intestines and every other organ in the body. It is a problem in which the body is unable to produce or properly use insulin. Insulin, a hormone that is necessary for converting starches, sugar and other food into energy. The precursor of diabetes is unknown and there is no known cure although effective control may be achieved under a doctor’s care.

Endocrinologists are specialists that treat diabetes. They are easy to find in most areas. Here are some examples: David Alster, MD of Tucson AZ, Amanda Megan Bell, MD of Washington, DC, David J. Domenichini, MD of Hartford, CT, Lisa B. Arian, MD of San Diego, CA

In 2005, it was estimated that there were 20.8 million people of all ages who are afflicted with the disease. That is roughly 7% of the population. Of that figure, 14.6 million people were diagnosed, but 6.2 million people were thought to have diabetes but they had not seen a doctor. Also, about 54 million people are pre-diabetic with one and a half million diabetes found in people older than 20, showing up yearly.

Diabetes is the number one cause of renal disease. In fact, high blood pressure and diabetes are the leading causes of kidney disease, responsible for an estimated 70 percent of renal failure cases with diabetes accounting of 44 percent of kidney failure cases. The early stages of kidney disease have no symptoms or signs . It quietly attacks your body and eventually when it is detected, the injury is so problematic that it quite often is too far to prevent failure of the kidneys. Once your kidneys fail, you have two options: dialysis or kidney transplant. If you do not receive one of these, you will eventually die.

How Diabetes causes Kidney Disease

When your kidneys are working properly, the glomeruli (tiny filters that are in the kidneys) keep all proteins inside of your body. Protein is essential for a multitude of functions inside of your body and are needed to keep you healthy. Diabetes creates too high of a concentration of glucose in the blood which damages the glomeruli. The result is that they are no longer effective in keeping the protein in the body and it is leaked into the urine from the kidneys.

When the kidneys are thus damaged they no longer work properly and do not clean our waste and extra fluids as they should. When this occurs, the waste and fluids build up in the bloodstream instead of being expelled in the urine. The longer this happens, the worse the damage becomes until the kidneys eventually cease to function.

The Progression of Kidney Disease

It can require years for kidney disease from diabetes to develop. Some experience hyperfiltration in the first few years of their having diabetes. This means that the glomeruli actually put out more urine than normal. Once the damage starts, though, it is progressive. As a person develops kidney disease, they will have a blood protein called albumin that will begin to enter into the urine in small amounts. At this time, normally the glomeruli are actually functioning normally.

The progression of the disease will lead to more protein passing into the urine and the glomeruli begin to progressively fail as the filtering begins to decrease. Waste is kept because of the filtration failure. As a result, the kidneys fail.

How to Prevent Kidney Problems if you have Diabetes

If you have diabetes, you can often prevent kidney failure. Use these steps to protect yourself: * Control your diabetes by following a diabetic menu and exercising regularly * Take your medication according to your doctors orders * Have your doctor test your blood and urine regularly for kidney problems * If the urine test shows that you do have kidney problems, consider medicines such as angiotensin II receptor blockers and ACE inhibitors that can help keep your kidneys healthy.

A diagnosis of diabetes does not have to lead to kidney disease. As long as you control your condition, manage it well and follow your endocronologist’s orders, there is no reason that you can’t live a long, healthy, happy life – without kidney disease.